MONTGOMERY — Pregnant women in Alabama may be able to get a new tax deduction starting next year through a bill that would allow a fetus to be considered a dependent.

Under current law, taxpayers are allowed a dependent exemption for a child toward the income tax levied by the state. The proposed HB 182 would expand the definition of a dependent to include an unborn child.

“This is not a credit straight off what you owe the state it’s just a deduction that lowers your taxable income,” said Republic Rep. Tracy Estes of Winfield, sponsor of the bill. “I’m gonna use Jan. 8, for example, when it comes time to go file your taxes the following February through April, you could go ahead and claim this deduction thereby giving you credit for carrying that child.”

Currently in Alabama, the most tax credit or deduction a taxpayer can receive for a dependent is $1,000 and is based on the taxpayer’s income. A single person or a married person not living with his or her spouse can also file a personal exemption of $1,500 or, a head of a family or a married person living with his or her spouse can file a personal exemption of $3,000.

“As a Republican, we’re supposed to be about cutting taxes and saving people money and leaving all of their hard earned money in their own pocket,” Estes said. “Even though we know it’s a relatively novel amount, it also reaffirms the message that of many states across the country and including our state and Alabama. … We’re basically reaffirming that we believe that that is an unborn child inside that mother’s womb.”

Estes said the tax savings from the bill could help with costs that may have incurred during pregnancy such as copays and deductibles for health care or stocking a nursery with items need for a newborn.

“This is not going to offset all those expenses but at least a little bit of money just back in your pocket, it’s another way that we have been able to cut taxes for those at a time when they need it most,” he said.

The bill, if approved by lawmakers, would apply beginning Jan. 1, 2024. It has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Education Committee.

The Department of Revenue would be tasked with creating a form to be signed by a licensed health care professional and submitted by the taxpayer to verify that a taxpayer claiming a dependent was pregnant during the tax year.

Alabama is notable for its strict stance on the rights to unborn fetuses, having passed one of the most strict abortion laws in the country in 2019 by banning all abortions, with exceptions for emergencies.

Known as The Alabama Human Life Protection Act, the abortion law makes mention of an Alabama code that defines a person for homicide purposes to include an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.

Also, a 2018 constitutional amendment approved by 59% of voters declared that the public policy of the state is to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights to unborn children, and ”ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate.”

Amid strict abortion laws that have gone into effect last year in several states, lawmakers in Alabama’s neighboring states have approved or proposed legislation they say aim to help pregnant women.

In Mississippi, where abortion is also prohibited with limited exceptions for emergencies, Gov. Tate Reeves last year signed the Pregnancy Resource Act, which provides $3.5 million in tax credits for those who donate to pregnancy resources centers in the state.

This year, a proposal is under way with Mississippi’s “Pregnancy Resource Act,” which would create a child care expense tax credit for individuals or married couples earning $50,000 or less. The bill, if approved, would double the expense tax credit for families seeking to adopt from a maximum of $5,000 to $10,000, according to the Associated Press.

In light of the June 24, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned federal abortion protections, Georgia last year also allowed tax deductions for unborn fetuses.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, at any time on or after July 20, 2022, and through December 31, 2022, a taxpayer with unborn child (or children) with a detectable human heartbeat (which may occur as early as six weeks’ gestation), that taxpayer can now claim a dependent personal exemption in the amount of $3,000 for each unborn child.

Georgia’s six-week abortion law is currently in effect, but is being challenged in court.